2017’s Best Places to Raise a Family in Arizona

Apr 20, 2017 | Richie Bernardo, Senior Writer

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Moving your family to a new state is a challenge on its own. Moving them for all the right reasons is another. If you’re looking for cultural diversity, a strong economy and adventure for your clan, Arizona is the obvious choice.

This Southwestern state is the 11th most racially diverse. It also holds the record for having the largest share of its land designated for Indian reservations — about a quarter of the state — occupied by 22 federally recognized Native American nations. If better earning, employment or entrepreneurial opportunities are your priority, Arizona’s economy beats out those of 34 states and earns high marks in categories measuring, among others, GDP growth, share of fast-growing firms and share of high-tech jobs. And you won’t run out of fun options for family activities in the Grand Canyon State — the nickname says it all.

But some Arizona cities are more family-friendly than others. To determine the places in Arizona that are most suitable for putting down roots, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 65 cities in the state based on 21 key metrics. Our data set ranges from median family income to school-system quality to housing affordability. Read on for our findings, expert insight and advice on family matters, as well as our full methodology.

Ask the Experts

Families share a number of common priorities when choosing a new place to call home. With that in mind, we asked a panel of experts in fields such as family studies and public health to share their insight regarding the process of evaluating prospective Arizona cities on a family’s shortlist. Click on the experts’ profiles below to read their bios and their thoughts on the following key questions:

What are some tips for young families looking for quality public schools and affordable housing in Arizona?

How can local officials in Arizona make their cities more attractive to young families?

Looking just within Arizona, to what degree is child development and a family’s quality of life influenced by the city they live in?

Methodology

To help families find the best Arizona cities in which to put down roots, WalletHub’s analysts compared 65 cities in the state across four key dimensions: 1) Family Life & Fun, 2) Education, Health & Safety, 3) Affordability and 4) Socioeconomics. Our sample considers only the city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area.

We evaluated the four dimensions using 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most suitable conditions for family life.

We then calculated the overall score for each city based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to construct our final ranking.

Family Life & Fun – Total Points: 25

Playgrounds per Capita: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)

Number of Attractions: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)Note: “Attractions” includes, for instance, museums, theaters and zoos.

Share of Families with Children Aged 0 to 17: Double Weight (~8.33 Points)

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Environmental Protection Agency, County Health Rankings, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Renwood RealtyTrac, SchoolDigger.com, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Areavibes and WalletHub research.

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